Presentation on theme: "The Social Sciences & Theories February 17th, 2015"— Presentation transcript:

2 Primary SourceWhen you conduct research in the social sciences, you must select from a variety of primary and secondary resourcesPrimary resource – are obtained from field researchExamples: Interviews, observations, personal journal entries, surveys etc.Secondary resource – summarize what other people have to say about a topicExamples: Research reports, newspaper articles, magazine articles, textbooks, most webpages etc.When starting research, most social scientists begin with secondary sources to see what has already been found about your ‘research question’. Then you design your own primary source to test your hypothesis

3 Bias What is Bias??? (Dictionary.com)A particular tendency, trend, inclination, feeling, or opinion, especially one that is preconceived or unreasonedEx. Illegal bias against older job applicants, the magazine’s bias toward art rather than photography, your strong bias in favour of an ideaUnreasonably hostile feelings or opinions about a social groupprejudice: accusations of racial bias(Dictionary.com)

4 Anthropology AnthropologyIs the scientific study of the origin, the behaviour, and the physical, social, and cultural development of humans.It is the study of ________ factors – the arts, beliefs, habits, institutions, and other endeavours – that are characteristic of a specific _________, society or nation.Examples???

5 AnthropologyCultural anthropologists study ___________ societies to determine __________ patterns and regional or national ___________Anthropologists highlight the __________ of behaviours – which is necessary to overcome ethnocentrismExample: comparing initiation rites that mark the transition into adulthood of Mbuti African boys with an upper-class North American boyBy reading anthropological ________ of other cultures, people learn to understand that all cultural __________ is invented, and as a result, they will develop an ability to observe their own culture objectively

6 SociologySociologyIs the social science that explains the _________ of individuals as they interact in social ________ (i.e. in family settings, communities etc.) How society influences behaviour – can provide suggestions on how to _______ society to achieve more positive __________ (Civil Rights)Sociologists investigate social ______, the social sources of behaviour that are used to determine ______ of behaviourExample: Sociologist Reginald Bibby is best known for his studies of adolescence & youth in CanadaHis studies have been used for the __________ industry, they use his analysis of adolescent behaviour and attitudes to plan effective ______ strategies targeting the adolescent consumerWhat would be an example of a marketing company targeting young adolescents??

7 SociologySociological studies are more concerned with the ________ of behaviour in ______ groups – not so much behaviour in ____________Stats Canada gathers information about Canadians in many aspects: family, consumers, business lives__________ use demographics for planning social policy, marketing decisions etc.Determining __________ and ______ of behaviour of groups facilitates planning and policy decisions within a ________ (may not necessarily explain the behaviour of __________ people)Example: studying whether or not violent television programming causes aggressive behavior in children

8 PsychologyPsychology is the study of _________ based on _______ processesIts focus is how the _________ thinksJean Piaget studied the development of cognition in children by _________ them thinking in natural and ____________ settingsTheory of Stages of Cognitive Development (1970)Describes how children think at each age and is still the basis of curriculum design in school systemsRecent developments in brain imaging technology that enable researchers to observe _________ in the brain are helping psychologists to __________ the biological and chemical bases for the mental processes that Piaget described over 50 years ago

9 PsychologyPsychologists use ________ processes and the characteristic patterns of _________ (personality) to explain ___________ behaviourThey also examine how individuals ________ and ___________ one anotherPsychological research is used to help individuals manage their ___________Marketing – businesses use psychological _______ to motivate people to ________ their consumer behaviourPsychology can be used for ________ studies of individual behaviour, and for _______ studies of group behaviour

10 Theoretical PerspectivesGet into groups of about 3Select one of the following theoretical perspectives, consolidate the information and, on chart paper, write down the main pointsFunctionalismSystems TheorySymbolic InteractionismExchange TheoryLife-Course ApproachConflict TheoryFeminist TheoriesEcological Perspectives

12 What is a Theory?????When scientists explain their observations, their answers reflect their theoriesSome theories are durable and continue to be used to explain human behaviour for many yearsOthers have become less useful as the facts of human behaviour have changed and been replaced by newer theories (new social changes bring about new social theories – likewise, get rid of ‘useless’ ones)

13 Theories Cont’d Stephen Hawking:A theory is a good theory if it satisfies two requirements:1st – it must accurately describe a large class of observations on the basis of a model that contains only a few arbitrary elements2nd – it must make definite predictions about the results of future observationsHuman behaviour is influenced by decisionsTheories in the social sciences define patterns and trends, and probabilities - NOT RULES, not absolutesTherefore, there are many theories that attempt to explain the same set of observationsEach theory contains underlying assumptions about how the social world works – which in turn guide our research questions and methods – decide which theory is more useful for each investigation